For the seventh night in a row, the Pakistan Army had unprovoked small arms firing across the Line of Control (LoC), focusing on the Kupwara, Uri, and Akhnoor sectors in Jammu and Kashmir, thus breaching the ceasefire agreement. The Indian Army retaliated by employing proportionate force to respond against the cross-border firing.
This push comes after the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack that killed and again heightened tensions between the two countries. On Tuesday evening, forces in Pakistan also fired along the International Border, which has added to hostilities.
According to sources familiar with the situation, the Directors General of Military Operations (DGMOs) of both India and Pakistan engaged in talks regarding the ceasefire violations. India issued a stern warning to Pakistan regarding the continued unprovoked firing.
These actions by Pakistan are in clear violation of the 2003 ceasefire agreement, which both countries reaffirmed in February 2021 after rising tensions along the 740-kilometer de-facto border.
During these violations, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio asked India and Pakistan to dial back the tensions. Rubio also ensured External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar that the United States remains committed to its support for India's efforts against terrorism.
At a top-level meeting, Prime Minister Narendra Modi asserted that India's military forces have "complete operational freedom" to decide the timing, targets, and mode of response to the terror strike.
Following the Pahalgam attack, India declared a number of punitive measures against Pakistan. These included suspension of the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty, closure of the Attari land border crossing, and downgrading diplomatic relations due to the cross-border connections to the attack. India also closed its airspace to Pakistan-owned airlines and made moves to suspend the social media presence of Pakistani actors.
Pakistan responded by closing its air space to Indian airliners and suspending all trade with India, including through third nations. Pakistan also declined India's suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty, threatening to treat any effort to stop the flow of water as an "act of war."
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